


Stella Maris

by Kittykaiba



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: But not too much I swear, Drama, Explicit Sexual Content, Ghost Sex, Happy Ending, Love, Romance, alternative universe, phantasy au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:27:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23609893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kittykaiba/pseuds/Kittykaiba
Summary: Malik has panic attacks since he was a child and tends to pass out from time to time. When this happens he finds himself in a fantastic world which he learns to control and shape according to his wish. Someday he meets an attractive ghost there and falls in love. But it's not easy to love a ghost, even more when the world around you refuses to follow your command...
Relationships: Citronshipping - Relationship, Malik Ishtar/Thief King Bakura, Thief King Bakura/Marik Ishtar
Comments: 19
Kudos: 21





	1. Shadow Realm

**Author's Note:**

> Stella Maris is a term which describes the northern star guiding lost sailors on the sea.  
> It has no particular meaning for the story though it could be seen as a metaphor for Bakura guiding Malik out of his darkness.  
> There’s a German song called “Stella Maris” from the band “Einstürzende Neubauten” which was the basic inspiration for that fic.  
> I decided to keep the title as a homage more or less. In case anyone likes to listen to it: [Stella Maris-Song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYmRnl_J9GI)
> 
> A big thanks to [Mainy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mainstream_Deviant/pseuds/Mainstream_Deviant) for beta reading and commenting this XD 
> 
> Now I hope everyone has fun reading it. I will upload the chapters just as soon as I'm done with the edits, because we all might need a good read during the quarantine. I wish you a happy easter, if you celebrate it and please stay healthy! <3

Malik remembered falling like that, when he'd been a child. It was probably the first time it happened.

After he and his siblings left their home and their violent father behind, they'd built up their own life.

But it was hard for Malik to move on.

The past had shattered his young soul and even after he'd spent half his life in therapy, the nightmares still haunted him.

At some point the panic attacks were back and then he just passed out. This started when he was pretty young, about 12 and went on in his youth until he was roughly an adult.

He was 19 now and it still happened frequently.

It was exactly what happened in this moment again.

His body hit the floor and Malik fell into a deep slumber.

The air spiraled around his body, before a landscape appeared in front of him.

When he was young the landscape looked different every time it happened. Sometimes it was nice and quiet and other times it was intimidating and dangerous. And though he almost knew it was only a dream, it frightened him nonetheless.

Today he landed on a rock in the middle of an ocean. The waves crashed high against the surface of the stone and he could barely keep a hold on it. He screamed in desperation for someone to help him. He was scared the waves could crash over him and pull him into the depths of the sea.

He closed his eyes, trying to calm himself and thought of a big meadow. He imagined how soft the grass would feel between his fingers instead of the rough texture of the rock beneath him.

Malik wished to be on that meadow so badly. And then the world around him changed.

The sounds of the crashing waves disappeared and suddenly he found himself lying on a soft ground. Malik didn't dare to open his eyes for another moment.

Suddenly he had the feeling he wasn't alone anymore and for a second he could have sworn he felt a light breeze, like a soft touch, going through his blond locks.

Malik blinked his eyes open, but he was alone. He took a look around and saw that he was lying on a big green meadow.

The heaven was drowned in a light blue and little flowers stretched their heads up to the sky, from between the grass.

That had been the day when he learned, he somehow was able to manipulate his surroundings in this world.

Like he'd managed to concentrate and control his feelings in therapy, he tried to learn how to control the dream world.

When he landed in a dark wood, he concentrated as much as he could and simply wished to be somewhere else.

At first it took almost all of his strength and more than one try. But it got easier from time to time.

He still wasn't perfect with it, but it was okay how it was now.

It took Malik several years to learn it. Since he didn't really intend to be at that place at all, it wasn't easy to get it under his control.

The meadow was the place that seemed to be the most easy to create. It was just a plain meadow, with a few stones and different flowers and two lanky trees on it. It was a peaceful place.

This time Malik landed on the meadow directly. He took a brief look around and sighed.

“Great. That must be the second panic attack for this week now.”

He plopped down into the grass and caught some blades between his fingers.

Usually he just had to wait a little amount of time until his mind drifted back to consciousnesses or someone found him and woke him up again.

He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on his breathing.

The moment he opened his eyes again he couldn't quite believe them.

Several feet away from him sat a person. He was sitting crossed legged on a stone in the middle of the meadow.

His hair were bright white, but his skin was the same cinnamon color as Malik's own was. The figure wore a scarlet red robe. And they were clearly watching him.

Malik hesitated a moment but then rose from his seat and started walking. He took another look around to make sure there weren't any others.

It had never happened until then, that his mind imagined other people. Usually he'd been in that place all by himself.

When Malik arrived in front of the person he could clearly see it was a young man. Roughly the same age as him. The person was chewing on a straw and looked up to him.

Malik cleared his throat. He wasn't sure if his voice would even work in this world, since he never used it except when he screamed for his life.

“Who.... Who are you? And what are you doing here all of a sudden?”

The white- haired man rose an eyebrow at the question. “What do you mean? All of a sudden? I've always been here.”

Malik frowned. It was impossible. This place, that dream world. It was just in his head. A place for when he couldn't bare reality anymore. If there would be another person, he should know them, right?

And he definitely hasn't seen this guy before in his life.

“That's not possible.”

“Not possible?” The man chuckled. “But it is. I have always been here. I watched you. When you fought against the waves in the ocean, or that one time you almost fell from the top of that tree you climbed... even when you were just lying or sitting in the grass with your eyes closed. I've been there.”

Malik shook his head. “How?... Why didn't I ever recognize you?”

The man in the red robe jumped from the stone and looked right into Malik's lilac eyes. He was a fair way smaller than Malik, but his gaze was so intense it felt like he was looking right into his soul.

After a moment the man answered. “That's what I asked myself so many times.”

He turned and started walking casually in no specific direction. Malik followed.

“At the beginning I tried to communicate with you. I screamed and waved at you, jumped up and down. I even showed you my bare ass one day while standing on a cliff.” The man started laughing. It sounded more like a hyena cackle, that rang loud in Malik's ears.

“You never recognized me. It was as if I wasn't even there. And you always were so close, but still too far away I could properly reach out to you. That's why I gave up and just watched you.”

Malik felt confused. So the guy had tried to communicate with him before, but he never recognized him being there at all?

What a strange dream he was in right now.

“I can't believe this. My mind is playing tricks on me.”

The white-haired man turned to face him again with a frown. “What are you talking about?”

Malik shook his head. “Who are you? I should remember you.”

“I am Bakura.” the man answered to Malik's question right away with a grin splitting his face.

“Okay, Bakura. And what the hell are you doing in my dream?”

Bakura's grin faltered. “What do you mean, _your dream_?”

Malik gestured to the landscape surrounding them.

“This. Everything here is a world made of my dreams. That's why I can manipulate it as I wish.”

Bakura blinked at Malik in disbelief, then he started laughing again. “You really think, that this is a place in your head?!”

Malik pouted and then snapped back.“Of course it is! What else could it be? I'm landing here every time I pass out after my panic attacks.”

Bakura was holding his stomach while still laughing. Only Malik's last sentence seem to stop him from falling over. He took a breath to calm down and blinked at Malik again.

“Wait... you mean... you are not dead?”

“Are you kidding me?”

“No! I think _you_ are kidding _me_!”

Bakura started pacing around. After a few seconds he came to stop again in front of Malik and looked him over from head to toe. He stretched out his hand, but when he touched Malik it just slipped through him.

Malik's eyes widened. He tried the same with his own hand, but his also slipped through the other.

Bakura's grey eyes found Malik's lilac ones again.

“I wonder what that means. How are you able to come to this place if you are still alive?”

“I told you. I'm just unconscious. And this is my dream.”

“No. It's not.” Bakura turned around and started walking again.

On reflex Malik wanted to grab Bakura's arm to make him stay, but of course it slipped through the red cloak.

“Wait! I want you to explain this to me!”

Bakura stopped again and took a look around the meadow that seemed to have no end. It was kinda frustrating. “Why is it always this boring meadow?”

Malik shrugged his shoulders. “I think it's kinda soothing here.”

He stepped up to Bakura's side. “Will you explain to me, what you meant before? And tell me who you are?”

“I... am a Ghost.” Bakura's voice had dropped to almost a whisper and his expression turned sad.

He needed to clear his throat before he started talking again.

“This is the world in between the realm of the dead and the realm of the living. Some call it the Limbus. In other cultures it's called the realm of shadows. Pick what you like. Sometimes souls are stuck in here while waiting for their last judgement. But usually they don't meet around here. I am stuck here for a long time now.”

Malik still was confused. If this was what Bakura claimed it to be, why was he there? And why was he able to manipulate it?

“Does that mean, you are waiting for your final judgement in this place?”

“No.” Bakura shook his white mane. “I made a deal once. With a demon. It was to save my family. After the demon got his will and they were saved, I landed here. In the shadow realm. I thought I would be suffering here of loneliness for all eternity. A lot of time has passed since then I guess...” he turned to look into Malik's eyes again. “And then there was this boy falling from the heavens. I didn't want to trust my eyes for a moment. You landed on the shore of the sea. You looked confused and scared and started running along the shore crying. I yelled after you, but you didn't recognize me. It happened a lot since then. You fell down and the world was changing the moment you entered it. At first it happened to be dangerous and dark somehow. Like it was mirroring the fear written in your face, but after a while it changed.” Bakura smiled at Malik. “I realized, it was _you_ that changed it. You had the power to control it. I also realized that you seemed to grow up. You changed as well and got older. It was confusing and I wondered what it meant. But now you tell me, that you are not dead, but just unconscious. That kinda explains it.”

Malik listened to Bakura patiently. It was hard to believe what he heard. Otherwise, how unbelievable was it really? More than Malik having his own dream-world he could manipulate as he wished?

“Okay, but still I'm not sure how I can be here in the, what do you call it? Shadow realm?”

“I don't know.” Bakura narrowed his eyes a bit while he examined Malik further. “When you manipulate that world, how does it feel to you?”

Malik thought a moment. “I don't know. The first times I just did it without thinking much. Then I tried to control it. I try to concentrate on some nice feelings. It feels a bit like heat rising up in my body. A faint prickle runs through my veins and then the world starts shifting and follows my command.”

Bakura smirked. “Ah... That would explain at least a bit...”

Malik frowned. “What do you mean.”

“Well... I knew guys like you, back in the days when I was alive. People that were able to do things no ordinary being was able to accomplish. People, blessed by the gods, that were able to use _heka_ or _achu.”_

Again Bakura stretched out his hand in Malik's direction, this time as if to touch his hair, but again his hand slipped through.

“Re must have blessed you. You are as beautiful and shining as the sun itself.”

Malik swallowed hard. He felt an unfamiliar urge, when he looked at Bakura. For the first time in his life Malik didn't feel alone or lost, he felt complete in a way he never did before.

Malik wanted Bakura to be able to touch him and be able to touch him back. He wanted to hold him, to feel the structure of his skin and...

Malik wanted to respond, but suddenly he felt dizzy. He hold up his hands and watched them and then realized his body has gotten translucent.

“I... I'm waking up.”

Bakura smiled a sad smile at him. “Yes.”

Malik felt himself vanishing from this world and suddenly fear stung in his heart. He looked into Bakura's eyes and though he'd just met the ghost and didn't even understand what was happening, he suddenly was afraid he wouldn't see Bakura again. “Wait! Bakura! Will we meet again?”

Bakura chuckled. “I think so. Apparently it's your command this world follows. Make sure we find each other again.”

Then Malik was gone.


	2. Weakness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the drama chapter.  
> Warning for some violence, especially in Malik's childhood, but nothing too graphic. (It's the same shit as always. You know Daddy Ishtar is an asshole.)

It's been quite a while since Malik met Bakura in the shadow realm.

He thought a lot about Bakura since that day. His dreams were haunted now by the picture of the man with the bright white hair and the scarlet red robe. The way his nose crumbled up when he grinned, the pretty silver-grey eyes that seemed to look right into his soul.

Sometimes Malik wondered if it had been real.

He hoped so. He wanted- no- he  _ needed _ to see Bakura again.

Malik thought that maybe there was a way he could force himself into unconsciousness. He researched for that and bought himself books about hypnosis.

Though he tried it every day, nothing happened.

Then one night, after he had a rough week at work and nothing worked the way he wanted, the nightmares were back. And after the nightmares, as usual came the panic attacks.

Malik found himself surrounded by a strange fog, when he entered the shadow realm.

_ Make sure we find each other,  _ the words rang in his ears. He closed his eyes and thought a moment.

Maybe it would be good to be high above the world, if you’re searching for someone.

Malik concentrated on his wish and suddenly was standing on the top of a mountain.

From there he could look far over the landscape. There were other, smaller hills and on the other side was an ocean and a shore.

Malik took a look around, but he couldn't see anyone.

He closed his hands around his mouth and started yelling.

“Bakura!”

The echo sounded from the mountain walls.

Nothing.

Only the wind was howling around Malik, and there was no trace at all of another living creature.

“Bakura!”

He yelled from the top of his lungs.

Meanwhile Bakura had found himself at the bottom of an ocean.

He felt the shadow realm changing around him and he knew it must be Malik doing this. Bakura expected to be standing on that boring meadow again in a few moments, but instead he found himself surrounded by water.

He felt like he would be drowning a moment, but then he realized he was a ghost, so it actually shouldn't bother him.

He opened his eyes properly and took a deep breath under water. It worked.

Bakura swam to the bottom of the ocean and took a look around. Why would Malik do that? This must be a mistake.

Bakura walked around and passed something that looked like a shipwreck. He stepped inside and searched for something that might give him a hint what had just happened. The wreck wasn't very big. Algae grew on the wooden beams and the floorboards. It looked rather bleak overall and Bakura wondered, if it was true the shadow realm was mirroring Malik's feelings, this would be something the blonde hides within his soul.

Malik. He needed to find him. Bakura opened his mouth to yell Malik's name, but the water swallowed the sounds.

Bakura looked above and decided he had to search for an exit.

He got out of the wreck and swam up. After what felt like an eternity he reached the surface and took a deep breath of air as soon as his head came out of the water.

The heaven was blue and clear.

He took a look around and saw the mountains a few miles away and also a shore. He surely would find Malik when he could reach the shore, so he started swimming.

Malik still stood on the top of the mountain, when he suddenly made out a figure drowning in the ocean.

He clearly could make out the bright white hair in the blue of the water.

Malik smiled and moved to the front of the mountain. It seemed there was no other way than to climb... or... he laughed to himself about how stupid he was.

He closed his eyes and concentrated on his wish. It somehow felt to Malik like the shadow realm tried to elude from his silent command, but then the world around him shifted.

Malik and Bakura stood on a shore now. It took them only a few footsteps to meet.

Bakura huffed once they stood in front of each other.

“If I could, I would hit you now for nearly letting me drown in the ocean, you idiot.”

Malik chuckled.

“Didn't you say you are a ghost? Ghosts can't drown.”

Bakura put his hands on his hips as to make a point.“But we can get pissed, you know.”

Malik wanted to respond, but then he recognized his body vanishing again.

“Oh no... It seems we wasted our time searching for each other.”

“Next time make sure to make it easier.”

Bakura gave him a crooked smile.

Then Malik disappeared again.

When Malik passed out again, it was the day before his birthday. It was the hardest time in the year for him.

Malik felt desperate, because of the fear that was still controlling him after all this years.

The memories were back and Malik felt like the little boy again, waiting alone in a chamber until his father brought him to another room for a sick ritual of his cult. Malik could hear his own cries resounding from the walls. It was too much for him.

The world seemed to have frozen. Snow was surrounding his body. The storm, a blizzard, howled around him and every step Malik took got harder. His feet sunk into the thick snow blanket.

Malik tried to make the world follow his wish, but he couldn't even make the blizzard stop.

He felt desperation as soon as he'd entered the shadow realm. Like he did before he passed out.

The desperation in his heart was now mirrored by the world around him. If he couldn't control his feelings, he couldn't control the shadow realm.

Malik wasn't able to see anything between the snowflakes dancing before his eyes.

“Bakura!” he yelled as loud as he could, though the storm seemed to swallow every syllable.

His eyes stung and his heart was aching.

Malik wished for Bakura to be there. He didn't want to be alone with his feelings. He wanted to share them with someone who might know loneliness and desperation as well as he did.

“Bakura!”

It felt like he was walking through the blizzard for hours. Malik yelled Bakura's name until his voice sounded hoarse. Tears stung his eyes and he felt lost.

When he had given up all hope already, Malik saw something flash between the white of the snow. Malik could clearly see there was something red coming in his direction and he faintly heard a voice yelling his name.

“-lik!”

Bakura.

Malik took all his strength to tramp across the snow that felt like it tried to swallow him up. He shielded his eyes with one arm and tried to keep the red robe in sight.

Then he stopped. Malik knew the only way he could get to Bakura was when he controlled his feelings. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Malik just concentrated on his feelings, banning the desperation out of his heart and replacing it with something nicer. Something warmer.

The feeling of not being alone. He wasn't alone anymore. He wasn't lost.

When he opened his eyes again the blizzard was gone. The world was still buried under a thick snow blanket, but the storm was over and the sky was bright and blue.

Bakura walked through the snow until he was standing in front of Malik.

Malik shrugged his shoulders.

“I'm sorry. I wasn't able to control it.”

“I see.” Bakura didn't complain. He reached his hand up as to touch Malik's face, but like always his hand only touched air.

Bakura's expression looked more serious than the last times they met.

“You were crying.”

“I...” Malik wasn't able to answer because he started vanishing again.

It happened really fast this time and they weren't even able to say goodbye.

The next days were almost the same.

Malik struggled to get the shadow realm under his control, but it was too exhausting.

Malik's feelings that he brought with him from the other world weighed heavy on his heart and made the shadow realm react to them.

Howling storms. High waves in the ocean and tsunami's at the shore.

Every time Malik had already given up, Bakura was there. Although their encounters only lasted a few moments until Malik disappeared again.

It frustrated both to no ends.

Most of the time it was one of his siblings waking him up. They found him in whatever place he passed out and woke him up again.

Malik decided he had to make sure that doesn't happen again.

He knew his brother and sister were just concerned about him, but he was also sure they wouldn't understand. He thought about telling them, but he was sure they would get him back to the clinic again. It was bad enough for them, that he still had the panic attacks and passed out. When Malik now would tell them that he'd found out he can switch between two worlds and was able to control one of them with his wishes, they definitely wouldn't believe him.

Malik had to find a way to switch between worlds without him passing out because of panic attacks and then had to make sure no one would disturb him.

That's why he started to read everything about meditation he could find. He read an article about Tibetan monks that were able to find spiritual connections with other worlds through meditation.

Malik figured it was worth a try.

It took him weeks.

Though he had to admit the meditation practices were calming enough to prevent him to pass out again, they didn't have the result he desired.

It took Malik several hours of training every day to be able to control his breath and his mind so he was able to fall into a meditation. His heartbeat got calmer with every breath.

At first everything went just quiet around him, like the world was muted somehow.

That state lasted a while before he finally managed to switch places.

It startled Malik when he suddenly touched the soft surface of the meadow.

This time he didn't fall and landed on the ground, like he was when he was passing out.

He simply appeared on his meadow in the shadow realm.

Malik came to stand up and took a look around.

There was a familiar figure in a scarlet red cloak sitting on a stone with a smile.

He walked up to meet Bakura who stood up from his seat too.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

They stood in front of each other smiling.

“No crash landing today?” Bakura asked with a raised eyebrow.

“No.” Malik explained his newest efforts to him. “I'm working on a new way to come here. I want to control it myself when I switch. This way I can also prevent the storms that happened the last time I came here.”

“I see.” Bakura nodded. “But why do you want to come here anyway?”

Malik gave Bakura a warm smile that filled all of Bakura's vision and he almost could feel his dead heart beating again.

“Because of you, idiot.”

Bakura snorted, but a faint pink blush on his face betrayed his feelings.

They decided to take a walk together on the meadow. At first they were silently walking next to each other.

But there was something that didn't let Bakura go. He wanted to talk.

“Malik... the last times you came here, you were sad, right.”

Malik didn't respond and only chewed on his bottom lip.

“What happened?” Bakura asked though it was clearly an uncomfortable topic for Malik.

“It was my birthday.” The answer seemed simple but didn't make any sense to Bakura. He frowned at Malik.

The blonde took in a deep breath and closed his eyes a moment.

Bakura realized some dark clouds were forming in the sky, but suddenly they stopped becoming more. Malik seemed to control it.

Then Malik started speaking again.

“My father was a really mad man and he was the leader of an underground cult.

My mother had died giving birth to me. He must have loved her very much and he gave in to his grief since that day. My older siblings got beaten often by him.

I was spared. Until I was old enough. On my 10 th birthday he planned on forcing a sick ritual on me. I was locked up in a chamber, without light for several hours. I felt so much fear. When he released me, he dragged me into a room and tied me down to a table. Then he took a knife and carved something into my back.”

Malik paused a moment, his eyes still closed, trying to control his feelings.

“My brother found us. He fought against my father to free me. He got a hold on father and threw him to the floor. Father hit his head pretty hard and died.”

Malik opened his eyes, breathing deeply and turned to face Bakura.

“My siblings and me got away and began a new life far away from home. Though my soul didn't recover from everything that happened.”

Bakura listened to Malik's story with widened eyes. He couldn't believe a father could be that cruel with his own flesh and blood.

When Malik finished his story he kept his gaze to the ground. Bakura felt it was time now to tell his own story.

“I was about 5 when my village was raided by the soldiers. Some of the villagers were killed right away. Others were taken captive and forced to work for the pharaoh on his construction projects, building temples and dragging big stones. They worked hard under pitiful circumstances. I had been the only one who'd gotten away from the raid, so I figured it was my duty to help them. I got older, taught myself stealing and surviving alone in the desert. I wanted to free my family and get my revenge on the people who did this to us, but I was sure that I alone couldn't accomplish that. One night, when I robbed one of the tombs of a former pharaoh, I came across an artifact. It was a necklace with a big golden ring and in the centre of the ring was a pyramid with the eye of horus shown on it. At the edge of the ring were five spikes hanging down. The moment I touched it, it started glowing and I heard a voice, speaking in my head. It was a demon trapped in the ring. He said he could look into my heart and he knew my grief. He told me he had enough power to free my family, he only needed a body. I made a deal with the creature. The demon was allowed to use my body and he indeed freed my family. Although of course that wasn't everything he wanted. He used my body to destroy the temples and to fight against the Pharaoh and his priests. He wanted the power of the pharaoh and wanted the priests to worship him. But the priests were powerful as well. They fought the demon down and destroyed my body so they could seal him again in the artifact.

Without a body I couldn't go back and I was stuck in the shadow realm from then on.”

Malik thought a moment about Bakura's story.

“There must be a way. To get you out of here.”

Bakura responded with a desperate laughter. “I'm afraid, I think that's only something the gods could accomplish. Either they let me go to my final judgement or there is an new body created with  _ heka _ . Though it seems even the gods have forgotten about me.”

Malik searched for Bakura's gaze. His lilac eyes shone with hope when they found Bakura's grey ones. “Then I’ll find a way.”

He remembered their first meeting in the shadow realm.

“When you first met me here. You said I was beautiful. Did you mean that?”

Bakura was blushing again slightly and tried to look somewhere else, though he found it to be pretty hard to drag his gaze away from the beautiful lilac orbs planted on him. He didn't answer the question.

“Bakura.” Malik's voice was only a whisper now.

He walked around Bakura until they were facing each other again. Malik bent down until his nose would be almost touching Bakura's, if they would have been able to touch. His gaze drilled into Bakura's and though they couldn't touch they could feel their breaths tickling each others faces.

Malik closed his eyes and tilted his head just slightly. If they would have been able to, their lips would have touched.

Bakura closed his eyes as well and felt himself aching to really feel the touch of their lips.

It was like a soft breeze rushing over his bottom lip. It lasted only a few seconds.

When Bakura opened his eyes again, Malik was gone.


	3. Touch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the spicy chapter as well as the end.   
> Mainy told me, that apparently I invented a new porn genre LOL And it happened completely on accident.   
> Anyway, I hope you like it. Feel free to leave comments, or scream at me on my tumblr "Kittykaibasblog" <3

Malik came back after a few days. Bakura didn't really count since time didn't matter in the shadow realm anyway.

He greeted Malik with a rather annoyed expression and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Malik chuckled. “You look kinda cute when you're angry.”

“I see you work hard on your skill to switch between the worlds, but you should rather think about fixing the thing where you are  _ vanishing in the air all of a sudden _ .”

“Yes.” Malik scratched the back of his head and looked rather sheepish doing so. “I know. It's annoying and I can't even come back again right after it happens. Before, when I came here after passing out, it most of the time had to do with the fact that someone had found me and woke me up. Now it looks like I can't keep the mediation up if I'm... too excited.”

Bakura blinked at Malik a moment, before a smirk formed on his face.

“You mean, you get excited kissing me, even if it doesn't work for real?”

Malik blushed slightly, though he knew all too well, that Bakura just tried to fluster him, he decided to answer the question honestly.

“Even just thinking about kissing or touching you in general gets me excited.”

Bakura's smirk dropped and he tried to look somewhere else than into Malik's direction.

He dropped down to sit on the grass and play with some strands between his fingers.

Malik sat down next to him. He was floating his hand across the soft floor of the grass. He took a purple flower between his fingers and plucked it. Malik examined the delicate flower in his hand a moment. With a smile he turned to Bakura and stuck it behind Bakura's ear.

Bakura actually intended to comment the stupidly sappy gesture with a sarcastic comment, but he stopped himself, his eyes widening a bit as something occurred to him.

He reached up to touch the flower behind his ear. Then he turned to search for another one.

He plucked another purple flower and turned around to face Malik again, who watched him with a confused expression.

Bakura pressed his index finger against his lips to gesture for Malik to stay quiet.

He held up the flower to Malik's face. Softly he let the petals run down Malik's cheekbone, gracing the outline of Malik's jaw before running it slightly over Malik's full lips.

Malik's eyes fluttered shut and he let out a quiet gasp when the petals touched his lips.

Bakura proceeded to touch Malik's whole face with the flower petals, always ending on Malik's lips. He followed the gesture with his eyes, his own lids lowering while he yearned to repeat this with his own lips.

He gently traced the outlines of Malik's upper lips, then repeated it with his bottom lip.

Malik opened his mouth just slightly, licking his bottom lip just softly where the petals had graced it just moments before.

When he spoke his voice was merely a whisper that sounded soft in Bakura's ears.

“Ba- kura...”

Malik's eyes opened, his gaze wandering above Bakura's body in front of him. He turned to pluck another flower of his own and started to mirror Bakura's gestures from moments ago.

He started to grace the flower petals softly over Bakura's cheekbones, above the small scar under his right eye, then his jaw and finally ending the voyage on Bakura's lips. He traced the outlines of Bakura's lip with the flower petals, just like Bakura had done before to him.

Malik hesitated a moment. With a small smile he traced the flower down to Bakura's jaw again. He leaned in a bit more and moved the flower lower, tracing it along Bakura's neck and down to his collarbone.

Bakura wore nothing under his red cloak, so his torso was always bare for Malik to admire. Only his hips were covered by a purple shendyt that ended just above his knees. Malik looked deep into Bakura's eyes, whose lids had already lowered again, his breathing grew more rapid by each of Malik's feather light touches and his arousal was written all over his face.

He traced the flower down to Bakura's cinnamon colored torso, gracing some scars here and there and finally landed on one of his nipples.

Bakura sucked in a deep breath when the delicate petals graced his nipple, which was immediately growing harder with every touch.

Malik bent further until his lips could almost seal Bakura's ear, even, if they weren't able to feel each other physically, Bakura thought he felt Malik's hot breath tickling his skin.

His voice sounded deep and sexy.

“You are so hot, Bakura. I want you...”

Bakura didn't even had a chance to respond when Malik disappeared again, leaving the frustrated ghost behind.

Malik was surprised when he suddenly found himself sitting on his bed again.

“Fuck.” He cursed loudly, his frustration written all over his face.

All these feelings dwelling inside of him lead to an excitement Malik never had felt before, what obviously caused his meditation to find an abrupt end.

Malik still felt his skin hot from arousal and could feel his member in his pants aching to be touched. He let out and annoyed huff and sank in on himself when he suddenly realized something was in his hand.

He looked up and saw he was still holding the flower between his fingers.

When Malik was back in the shadow realm, he greeted Bakura with a bright smile. He stretched out his hand almost shoving the purple flower into Bakura's face.

Bakura grinned and wiggled his eyebrows at the gesture. “Want to seduce me, eh?”

“Idiot.” Malik chuckled and smacked the flower on Bakura's forehead.

“This is the same flower I used last time. I took it with me.”

Bakura looked at the flower and it took him a moment to process what Malik had just told him.

His eyes widened.

“You mean like, you took it with you, into your world?! That's... impossible.”

“Apparently it isn't.” Malik smiled happily at Bakura. The flower had given him hope. If he was able to bring things from the shadow realm to the world of the living, it should also give a way he could bring Bakura along. If only he would be able to touch him...

Malik had to find a way to accomplish that. Bakura had told him only the gods could decide over his fate. Malik remembered something Bakura had said during their first meeting. He wanted to know more.

“At our first meeting, you said I must be blessed by Re. What did you mean?”

Bakura thought a moment before explaining his train of thought he had back then.

“Back then, when I lived, the land was ruled by the pharaoh. As you might also know, he was entrusted by the gods and therefore was quite powerful . But there were more people who were blessed by the gods and had powers of their own. Most of them worked as priests and priestesses at the court. They usually had some characteristics showing the connection with the god blessing them. The ones blessed by Bastet often seem to have shining green eyes, others had birthmarks connecting them to their god and... as a kid I was told, the ones connected to Re, can be easily recognized by their golden hair.”

Malik took one of his blonde locks between his fingers and frowned.

“But there are many people who have blond hair. It depends on their genetics and where they come from.”

Bakura shrugged. “Where I come from it's not common to have light hair. And excuse me, but I'm pretty sure you are from Kemet too.”

Bakura didn't fail to astonish Malik anew every time they met. Kemet, Pharaohs... Malik figured Bakura must be at least a few thousand years old. It was as exciting as well as frightening.

Malik had to admit, he always was told he looked unusual for an Egyptian with his light hair contrasting his brown skin. But he never thought that he might have a connection to a god.

He examined Bakura's shining white hair and figured that this would mean Bakura might have a connection to a god too. At least when he was still living.

“What is your connection?”

Bakura grinned, pleased that Malik made his conclusion.

“I was connected to the god Thoth. God of the moon, magic and knowledge.”

“Do you have any powers too?” Malik was curious now.

“Yes. I had. I had the power to summon my  _ ka _ , to give it shape and bring it to life. It also happened to be quite useful for a thief like me, since it held the power to make me invisible for a short time.”

“That's pretty cool!”

“Yes. Yes it was...” Bakura got silent again and his expression went a bit thoughtful.

Malik thought about everything a moment and wondered why Bakura would be stuck in the shadow realm when he had a connection to a god.

“What happened? Why are you stuck here, if you were such a powerful human?”

Bakura sighed. “Unfortunately my cool tricks weren't enough to save my family. And I'm afraid, making a deal with a demon seems to make you lose your rights to use the connection.”

“I see.” Malik nodded slightly. He gave Bakura a small smile. “But I think it's nice to think that you are connected to the god of the moon and I am connected to the god of the sun. It's like we were destined to find each other.”

Bakura mirrored Malik's smile. He hadn't even thought of the possibility that it really was meant to be like that. Until now he had thought everything was a coincidence, but maybe Malik was right and it was fate that brought them together.

Malik watched the flower in his hand. Blessed by the gods or not, he had to find a way to get Bakura out of the shadow realm.

He was so immersed in his thoughts for a moment that a sudden touch on his bare arms startled him.

Bakura began to stroke him slightly with a flower he'd just plucked from the ground. He smirked at Malik and lowered his lids seductively.

Malik didn't have to ask, he knew right away that Bakura wanted a repetition from their last meeting.

“I'm still a bit mad how you left me the last time.”

Malik had to admit, it hasn't been much better for him. The whole thing has been the equivalent of a cosmic cockblock. After Malik has given himself some release afterwards, he did focus on training his concentration. He wanted to make sure something like that never happened again. He still wasn't sure if it worked, but a look in Bakura's half lidded eyes told him he definitely wanted to find out.

He lowered himself to the ground, gesturing with his index finger for Bakura to follow.

Too Malik's satisfaction, Bakura first shed his red robe, leaving him in only the purple shendyt, before lowering himself to the ground. He laid himself next to Malik who was sitting in the grass and propped his body up on one elbow, his head resting in his hand.

Malik watched him and unwittingly licked his lips while admiring Bakura displaying himself like that for him.

He started tracing soft lines over Bakura's face and lips with the flower, just like he did last time. When he traced the flower to Bakura's neck and down to his upper body Malik bent over to whisper in his ear.

“Lay down.”

Bakura didn't need to be told twice. He fully laid down in the grass and closed his eyes while Malik continued to gently touch his body with the flower.

Malik made sure he didn't leave any part on Bakura's upper body out. He caressed the skin soft and slowly, like he would plant soft kisses on the torso.

He traced the lines of the scars decorating Bakura's body, scars from an ancient, rough life in the desert. Malik wanted to kiss them, sooth the tension underneath them. He bent down enough so he could blow softly over them.

Bakura let out a small moan when he felt Malik's soft caresses paired with the faint feeling of his breath.

Malik circled around one of Bakura's nipples, then he touched the nipple directly with the delicate petals. Bakura let out a soft moan, as his nipple grew harder at the sensation.

Malik played a bit with both of Bakura's nipples and this way dragged out the sweetest sounds from his lover.

He felt himself getting more and more aroused as well.

The flower left Bakura's hard buds and made his way further down, until it rested on Bakura's groin, which was still covered by the shendyt. Malik looked down at Bakura's eyes waiting for any response.

It took Bakura a few moments before he opened his eyes. They found Malik's lilac ones which looked questioning down on him. Bakura's eyes followed Malik's arm to the flower that rested on his groin.

He understood.

Bakura grabbed the hem of his shendyt and slipped out of the garment.

Malik admired the sight first, his pupils dilating with lust when he thought about all the things he would do with Bakura if only he could touch him.

He started to caress Bakura's skin with the flower again. First he drew small circles around his hip bones, then trailed down to his inner legs. Malik took his time, touching every inch of Bakura's skin with the flower petals. When he trailed up on the inner leg again, he watched Bakura with an intense gaze. Bakura led out a small whimper, when the flower touched his hips again. He traced up and down Bakura's sensitive skin there, cautious to not touch were Bakura really wanted him too.

“Malik...”

“Yes?” Malik's question sounded innocent though Bakura knew all too well he was far away from that. “Do you want something?”

The flower still circled around Bakura's half hard cock.

“Malik... please...”

Bakura whined and Malik had to chuckle. He would have had so much more fun, when he could have touched Bakura for real, but seeing his lover that aroused by only being teased with a flower got Malik excited as well.

Malik started to trail the flower up to Bakura's navel what earned him another whine, before he finally travelled down Bakura's happy trail and then softly touched Bakura's shaft. He traced along the veins and made his way further down to his balls. Bakura's cock turned harder with every soft touch he felt. His toes curled like he tried to grasp the grass with them.

The petals tickled Bakura just slightly at his balls, but he didn't care very much since he felt really turned on right now.

Malik ran the flower up the shaft again, slowly as to drag the sensation out. He bent down again to blew just slightly over Bakura's tip, when the flower followed to touch him there as well.

Bakura moaned shamelessly now.

His eyes were still closed and he felt every touch with the flower and every breath very intensely. His fantasy ran wild and he pictured Malik kissing him in all the places were the flower went. He pictured Malik's full beautiful lips closing around his tip, licking, sucking...

His moans got louder every second while Bakura rocked his hips.

Malik felt aroused by just hearing and watching his lover unravel like that. He had to close his eyes a few times to not let his concentration slip. He had to prevent himself from disappearing again at all costs.

With his other hand Malik started to open his pants and took his own hardening member in his hand. He started to stroke it slowly while still listening to the sweet sounds of his lover who was wreathing in the grass, begging to be touched for real.

Malik continued to play a bit with the flower at Bakura's cock, then he decided it was enough.

He climbed over Bakura's body, straddling him and facing him directly. Malik aligned himself so, their cocks were facing each other as well and started to stroke his own cock again.

Bakura swallowed hard, the whole situation almost turned him mad.

Malik bent down just a bit again to whisper hot in Bakura's ear: “Touch yourself, Bakura. I want you to come with me.”

Bakura felt relieved and excited when he followed the command immediately. He took his already hard member in his hand and started stroking it in unison with Malik.

They locked their gazes with each other and only when Bakura came he closed his eyes for a moment. And he came hard.

Malik followed shortly after and laid down next to Bakura, spent and exhausted.

Bakura turned his head to look at Malik, who was lying in the grass with his eyes closed and a peaceful expression on his pretty features.

“You stayed.”

Malik blinked his eyes open.

“Yes.” He turned his head to look back at Bakura with a smile. “I trained my concentration a bit more. Also I trained to control my emotions since I was a kid, at least that's why I learned to control the shadow realm.”

He took the flower that was still resting on his stomach and eyed it closely. His train of thought wandered to the moment in his bedroom when he realized the flower was still there.

“I think it happened on accident.”

Bakura frowned. He didn't understand what Malik was talking about.

Malik recognized his confusion and tried to explain.

“When I'm here, I have to concentrate on my feelings, on the positive feelings to be exact, that's how I'm able to shape and control this world. It's easier when you’re around.”

He handed the flower over to Bakura while explaining further. “I think, it was an accident, that I took it with me. I was immersed in all these wonderful feelings because of you and the moment I woke up and switched to my world I still kept it.”

Malik sat up as another thought crossed his mind all of a sudden.

“Maybe... “ He wasn't sure how to explain what crossed his mind.

“Back then, around my birthday, it was hard for me to get a hold on all the nice feelings. My heart was aching and I felt lost. That's what the shadow realm mirrored with its storms and all the chaos. I wanted to find you so badly, but only when I almost gave up, you appeared. Your red cloak was like my northern star, guiding me out of the darkness.”

Malik's eyes got wider when realization hit him. Bakura however wasn't sure he understood what Malik wanted to tell him.

“Maybe I have to give up the control.” He turned to face Bakura and looked deep into his eyes. “Maybe you have to be the one guiding me.”

Bakura shook his head slightly. “I don't understand what you're saying, Malik.”

Malik smiled. Then he closed his eyes. He tried to sort out his feelings, then went to the deepest, darkest thoughts in his mind. His heart started aching as the memories filled his mind.

Suddenly the world around them started to change.

Bakura watched the sky getting darker with every second. Dark clouds were forming above them, a deep fog was settling over the meadow.

Malik frowned and looked hurt all of a sudden, his eyes still closed.

Bakura saw the flowers around them wither away. The once peaceful meadow turned dark and bleak and the ground started shaking.

Bakura got to his feet and wrapped himself into his cloak again. He felt panic rise in his chest, while Malik still sat on the ground, his face twisted in pain.

“Malik! Stop! What are you doing?!”

Malik didn't hear him. He was absorbed in all his painful memories and let the darkness wash over him like the waves of the ocean once did.

Bakura realized the ground was crumbling beneath them. He jumped as large cracks formed around them.

“Malik!” His scream split the air.

Then both of them fell into the darkness.

Everything around them, the meadow, the trees and flowers on it, absolutely everything disappeared and only darkness was left.

Bakura rowed his arms in a desperate attempt to somehow catch his fall. He looked around in panic and saw Malik was falling a only few feet away from him.

Malik opened his eyes. The lilac colored orbs shone brightly in the darkness, like vibrant amethysts. 

“Bakura!”

“Malik!” Bakura yelled, although their voices were the only sound to be heard in the pitch black. “What the fuck have you done!”

“I gave up my control!”

The answer sounded simple, but still Bakura had no clue what it meant. They were falling further through the darkness.

Bakura saw tears glisten in Malik's eyes. Whatever he had done, Bakura was sure it must have been painful. He felt the need to hold Malik, to sooth his pain.

Without thinking much he stretched out his hand. It was only a few inches that separated them.

Malik stretched out his own hand.

Bakura grabbed Malik's wrist and pulled him towards him, then Malik got a hold on Bakura's other wrist.

They were still falling, but now it didn't feel that threatening anymore.

Bakura pulled again at Malik's wrists and finally managed to tug him close. He wrapped his arms tightly around his lover, his red cloak floating behind them.

Bakura closed his eyes and sealed his lips over Malik's ear.

“I love you, Malik.”

Malik's body started flickering and the next moment they both disappeared.

Bakura almost didn't dare to open his eyes. He was sure he wasn’t falling anymore and suddenly he realized he still held Malik in his arms.

He freed his arms and sat up to take a look at his surroundings. They were in a room, with some strange looking shelves in it and they sat on something Bakura figured to be a bed. It was a strange looking room with a lot of things in it Bakura had never seen before, nothing like one he'd ever seen before in Kemet when he still lived.

Malik sat up as well. The moment Bakura turned his head to face his lover, Malik smiled brightly at him.

He raised his hand to caress Bakura's cheekbones, then his scar. He cradled Bakura's face gently in his hand and bent forwards to plant a soft kiss on his lips.

“I love you too, Bakura.” 


End file.
